External debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$) in Zambia
Zambia: External debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$) was 22.00 billion DOD, current US$ in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
22.00 billion DOD, current US$
Change on year
down 1.1%
World rank
44th
of 123 countries
All-time high
28.15 billion DOD, current US$
in 2020
All-time low
653.52 million DOD, current US$
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
External debt stocks, long-term in Zambia, 1970–2025
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in DOD, current US$.
Analysis
The most recent figure for external debt stocks, long-term in Zambia is 22.00 billion DOD, current US$, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 1.1% on the previous year and up 106.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, external debt stocks, long-term in Zambia peaked at 28.15 billion DOD, current US$ in 2020 and was at its lowest, 653.52 million DOD, current US$, in 1970.
That places Zambia 44th out of 123 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
External debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$) in Zambia, year by year
| Year | DOD, current US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 653.52 million DOD, current US$ | — |
| 1971 | 668.83 million DOD, current US$ | +2.3% |
| 1972 | 717.27 million DOD, current US$ | +7.2% |
| 1973 | 760.91 million DOD, current US$ | +6.1% |
| 1974 | 892.55 million DOD, current US$ | +17.3% |
| 1975 | 1.26 billion DOD, current US$ | +41.3% |
| 1976 | 1.41 billion DOD, current US$ | +11.8% |
| 1977 | 1.57 billion DOD, current US$ | +11.6% |
| 1978 | 1.61 billion DOD, current US$ | +2.3% |
| 1979 | 1.94 billion DOD, current US$ | +20.2% |
| 1980 | 2.22 billion DOD, current US$ | +14.6% |
| 1981 | 2.22 billion DOD, current US$ | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 2.33 billion DOD, current US$ | +5.2% |
| 1983 | 2.53 billion DOD, current US$ | +8.2% |
| 1984 | 2.57 billion DOD, current US$ | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 3.02 billion DOD, current US$ | +17.5% |
| 1986 | 3.74 billion DOD, current US$ | +23.8% |
| 1987 | 4.34 billion DOD, current US$ | +16.2% |
| 1988 | 4.32 billion DOD, current US$ | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 4.10 billion DOD, current US$ | -4.9% |
| 1990 | 4.54 billion DOD, current US$ | +10.7% |
| 1991 | 4.70 billion DOD, current US$ | +3.4% |
| 1992 | 4.52 billion DOD, current US$ | -3.8% |
| 1993 | 4.40 billion DOD, current US$ | -2.6% |
| 1994 | 5.19 billion DOD, current US$ | +17.9% |
| 1995 | 5.30 billion DOD, current US$ | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 5.39 billion DOD, current US$ | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 5.26 billion DOD, current US$ | -2.3% |
| 1998 | 5.35 billion DOD, current US$ | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 4.58 billion DOD, current US$ | -14.5% |
| 2000 | 4.51 billion DOD, current US$ | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 4.99 billion DOD, current US$ | +10.6% |
| 2002 | 5.48 billion DOD, current US$ | +10.0% |
| 2003 | 5.83 billion DOD, current US$ | +6.4% |
| 2004 | 6.42 billion DOD, current US$ | +10.0% |
| 2005 | 4.45 billion DOD, current US$ | -30.7% |
| 2006 | 1.68 billion DOD, current US$ | -62.2% |
| 2007 | 1.99 billion DOD, current US$ | +18.4% |
| 2008 | 2.09 billion DOD, current US$ | +4.8% |
| 2009 | 2.11 billion DOD, current US$ | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 2.05 billion DOD, current US$ | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 3.54 billion DOD, current US$ | +72.2% |
| 2012 | 4.23 billion DOD, current US$ | +19.8% |
| 2013 | 4.81 billion DOD, current US$ | +13.6% |
| 2014 | 7.82 billion DOD, current US$ | +62.6% |
| 2015 | 10.66 billion DOD, current US$ | +36.4% |
| 2016 | 14.18 billion DOD, current US$ | +33.0% |
| 2017 | 22.05 billion DOD, current US$ | +55.5% |
| 2018 | 23.29 billion DOD, current US$ | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 27.91 billion DOD, current US$ | +19.8% |
| 2020 | 28.15 billion DOD, current US$ | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 23.62 billion DOD, current US$ | -16.1% |
| 2022 | 23.71 billion DOD, current US$ | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 23.28 billion DOD, current US$ | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 22.25 billion DOD, current US$ | -4.4% |
| 2025 | 22.00 billion DOD, current US$ | -1.1% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 22.00 billion DOD, current US$ is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.71 billion DOD, current US$, 1.9× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 22.00 billion DOD, current US$ is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.45 billion DOD, current US$, 4.0× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where External debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$) in Zambia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | -62.2% | 4.45 billion DOD, current US$ | 1.68 billion DOD, current US$ |
| 2011 | +72.2% | 2.05 billion DOD, current US$ | 3.54 billion DOD, current US$ |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.15 billion DOD, current US$ | 653.52 million DOD, current US$ | 1.94 billion DOD, current US$ | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.14 billion DOD, current US$ | 2.22 billion DOD, current US$ | 4.34 billion DOD, current US$ | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.92 billion DOD, current US$ | 4.40 billion DOD, current US$ | 5.39 billion DOD, current US$ | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.95 billion DOD, current US$ | 1.68 billion DOD, current US$ | 6.42 billion DOD, current US$ | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.06 billion DOD, current US$ | 2.05 billion DOD, current US$ | 27.91 billion DOD, current US$ | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.83 billion DOD, current US$ | 22.00 billion DOD, current US$ | 28.15 billion DOD, current US$ | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More external debt data for Zambia
- Net financial flows, IBRD -3.28 million NFL, current US$ (2004)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita -1 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP -0.0008 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre 5.15 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per capita 15.7 NFL, current US$ per person (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0132 NFL, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per square kilometre 216.89 NFL, current US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Use of IMF credit 3.48 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) 16.02 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, short-term 3.15 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is external debt stocks, long-term in Zambia?
- External debt stocks, long-term in Zambia was 22.00 billion DOD, current US$ in 2025, according to International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest external debt stocks, long-term recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 28.15 billion DOD, current US$ in 2020.
- What is the lowest external debt stocks, long-term recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 653.52 million DOD, current US$ in 1970.
- How does Zambia rank for external debt stocks, long-term?
- Zambia ranks 44th out of 123 countries with data for 2025.
- Is external debt stocks, long-term rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 106.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), published as part of External debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Long-term debt is debt that has an original or extended maturity of more than one year. It has three components: public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed debt. Data are in current U.S. dollars.